Veteran Hunt
by ElementalHarmonies
Summary: When the veterans of Smash Mansion start disappearing, the Brawl characters and the Melee exclusives must find a way to save them. With an unusual ally by their side, a perfection-driven psycho on their backs, and a rising old enemy out to get revenge, will they actually succeed?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I obviously don't own SSBB or all the characters. I only own Midnight, Cosmos, and Soul.

The First Kidnap

It was an understatement to say that the Smashers of Smash Manor/Mansion were simply laughing. No, they were breathless, red face, and tears cascaded down their cheeks. Why all the hilarity? Well, Bowser and Ganondorf were brawling on a stadium. But it wasn't any old stadium, no, it was a custom made one. And even better, it was made by Roy and Link, so it consisted of one little platform. Combine this and the two Kings of Evil and Misery, you have created hilarity. The laughter increased tenfold (if that was even possible) when a well-placed Bob-omb landed between Ganondorf and Bowser, and the latter had let out a giant and rather powerful flame, which resulted in painful and comical results.

"GAME!" cried the announcer, finally ending the match. The results flashed across the screen, and the laughter started up again. In order to spare whatever dignity the kings had left, I'll just say that they just set the all-time record for self-destructions.

"WOW! You guys suck! WAHAHAHA! Even my pet rock could do better! And rocks can't move!" Wario lamely taunted. "You, of all people, have a pet rock?" Falco asked in pure amusement. "…Shut up." More laughter.

Meanwhile, outside all this insanity, was the Smash Meadow, where the Pokémon ran free. And the occasional real animals. Underneath a willow tree, laid the superstar plumber everyone knows and loves, Mario. He had his trademark red cap over his eyes, and was resting peacefully. All of the Smashers knew to avoid him when he was in this state of peace, because the last time someone bugged him (*coughSNAKEcough*), he was sent to the hospital for a month. Abruptly, his peaceful relaxation ended when he heard rustling. Mario jumped up and looked around, alert for anything dangerous.

He heard rustling again, and from inside a bush, out came a bloodied and bruised little dog. Its black ears were scarred and torn; it looked like its tail was half cut off; and its black fur was also scarred and ripped off here and there. Its eyes were a dull green, full of fear, pain, and just a hint of something Mario couldn't exactly place. Mario's eyes softened immediately at the sight of the poor creature. He slowly walked toward it, so he wouldn't scare it away, and picked it up.

The small black dog whimpered softly, and flinched when Mario touched it, but once it realized the plumber wouldn't hurt him, he relaxed. "Awww, you poor little thing! What on Earth happened to you!?" Mario asked. The dog moved his little paw to the right, indicating the bush he had just tumbled out of. "What? Something attacked you in the bush?" Mario inquired. The dog nodded his head, and Mario lowered him down to the ground, and walked over to the bush.

'_Hah! You idiot plumber! First rule of avoiding assassination: Never let your guard down!'_ A hidden assassin thought to himself. "Hey, little dog, I don't see anythi-" Mario never finished that sentence, for the assassin struck, paralyzing and rendering him unable to speak. Mario's last thought before he drifted off into unconsciousness was, '_That dog wasn't a dog, it was a dragon!'_

Said dragon was currently stuffing Mario's body into a bag. "Ugh, why couldn't this assassination be harder? I need a challenge for once! Oh well, better report back…and jeez, this guy needs to go on a diet."The assassin mumbled to himself. "Lord Soul, this is Eternal Cosmos, reporting on the capturing of Mario! …Sir, are you there?" Eternal Cosmos said into his leather hologram arm warmer. When it finally stopped showing static, it revealed a black-furred dragon with rather large wings dancing and singing like an idiot. "_I got the moves like Jagger, I got the moves like Jagger, I got the mooooooves like Jagger!" _**"MIDNIGHT TERROR, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN LORD SOUL'S QUARTERS!?" ** Said dragon stopped and screamed while he tripped over a nicely placed bucket and fell over into a flaming pit. "It's ok! I'm fine! Perfectly peachy!" Midnight babbled while climbing out of the pit.

He looked around for the source of the voice when he saw the hologram of a pissed Eternal Cosmos standing in the corner. Midnight suddenly grinned and exclaimed, "Hey, Cosmos! What's up, amigo?" Cosmos just huffed and said in harsh tone, "Look, I'm done wasting my time here and watching you fool around while I have important work to do. Just tell Lord Soul that the capture of Mario went perfectly." He looked at Midnight and saw hurt flash through his green eyes, but it was gone and replaced with that annoying fake sparkle. "Ok, then. Have fun with the rest of your assassinations!"

And with that, Cosmos was gone. Midnight let out a troubled sigh, crossed his arms, and mumbled, "Would it kill him to be more considerate with my feelings?" He continued sulking for a few moments, until he had a sudden stroke of genius. "OMG, I just thought of something genius!" I just said that, idiot. "Oh, well who cares. This plan of mine is going to earn me some respect around here! Believe it!" **(A.N. Yup, I had to quote Naruto right there.)**

Meanwhile, back at the Smash Mansion, the Smashers had yet to realize Mario was gone. There was now another match going on, Zero Suit Samus versus Ike, and so far, Samus was winning. A Smash Ball floated around the Delfino Isle stadium, and the two Smashers were trying to break it. Unfortunately for Ike, Samus got to it first and just utterly destroyed him with her Final Smash.

When Ike and Samus returned to the Common Room, it was apparently time for dinner. "Hey guys, I'm going to go and get Mario, he wouldn't want to miss Pasta Night!" Luigi said. "Oh! I'll go with you, Luigi!" Peach exclaimed. They headed outside, toward the tree Mario loved, but they saw no sign of the red clad plumber.

"Uhh, Luigi, you're sure you saw Mario go out here?"

"Yes, he loves this spot, but…I don't see him anywhere…"

"Peach! Luigi! Did you get Mario yet?" Fox asked, walking up to the Mushroom Kingdom residents. "Well, obviously not, since he's not here with us." Peach replied in a sassy tone. Fox growled and walked toward the tree, and suddenly froze. "Peach, go get the others! Now!" Fox commanded in an alarmed tone. Peach looked at him strangely before running off, while Luigi cautiously strolled toward the canine. He looked over Fox's shoulder and gasped.

Blood, obviously Mario's, was staining some patches of grass, and a little tuft of gray fur was laying on the ground. "Mama Mia! What happened!?" Luigi panicked. "Umm, it looks like something, or someone, kidnapped him...Luigi!" The green-clad plumber tensed at the sound of his name, but replied, "Err, yeah, Fox?" "Let's look around for evidence, and try to figure out who or what took Mario. All we have so far is this tuft of fur, but I can't recognize the scent. In fact…I've never even heard of it. Wonder what it is…"

The canine's thoughts were halted as the rest of the Smashers showed up, looking rather pissed off. Meta Knight took a deep breath and said in a (not so very) calm voice' "Fox, please give us a GOOD reason on why we are missing Pasta Night?" The rest of the Smashers, minus Peach, Luigi, and Fox grumbled their agreement. Fox glared at all of them and exclaimed in an agitated voice, "Oh, I don't know, maybe because Mario is missing!?" Before the others could react, Peach screamed, "What the **HELL **is** THAT**!?"

And right behind them, was a black baby wolf, covered in scars and blood.

Yup, so there's the first chapter of Veteran Hunt. If you see any mistakes, grammar problems, or ways to make this story more interesting, please tell me. I'm only 12, so nothing harsh, like flames. Just constructive criticism. I have a very fragile self-esteem, for your information. Anyway, please review!

_**-Hunter**_


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, it's Harmony again! I'm relieved that I now have a lot of free time to update, since it's almost the end of the year at my school, and the only homework I have are Spanish, which is easy, and History, which I finish in class. And thank you to my reviewers, your advice is seriously helpful! I may be in Honors English, but my teacher doesn't teach, she expects us to know everything…Ok, I'm going to shut up now.

Disclaimer: I don't own SSBB. If I did, I'd probably be a millionaire. All I own are Midnight, Cosmos, and Soul. And a cat that won't SHUT UP.

"_Blah"_= Nightstorm's telepathy.

**Friend or Foe?**

"Aw, look at that poor thing! It's bleeding badly, we need to take it to Dr. Mario!" Princess Zelda exclaimed, worried for the little black wolf. It answered her by whimpering pitifully, obviously in extreme pain.

"Zelda, don't you think something suspicious is going on? Mario is kidnapped by something gray and furry, and now this little wolf is coming out of nowhere, too?" Fox asked, eyeing the wolf warily. The petite canine flinched, but thankfully, it was at the same time Zelda decided to gently pick it up, which excused it as insecurity. Peach huffed at Fox, and said in a disbelieving tone, "Fox, how can you have suspicious thoughts about this poor thing! We are going to Dr. Mario right now, and then we can figure something out, okay?"

Fox looked around, and saw that most of the Smashers, save for Ganondorf, Bowser, and Wario, were all in agreement with Peach. Defeated, Fox let out a sigh, "Alright, let's go…"

X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Meanwhile, in Lord Soul's lair, Eternal Cosmos was having a heart attack.

"**WHERE IS THAT IDIOT!? AUGH, I CAN'T BELIEVE I LET HIM OUT OF MY SIGHT! MIDNIGHT, YOU ASSHOLE!" **

"Eternal, calm down. I'm sure Midnight is fine, and he's getting some work done. Besides, you're giving me a headache." A firm voice called. Cosmos turned around and saw Lord Soul standing there, in all his purple-furred glory. Cosmos was snapped back into reality when Soul's amused voice said, "Eternal, stop drooling. It's unfitting for someone like you."

Cosmos blushed, and muttered a quick apology, and then spoke in a louder voice, "What are we going to do about Midnight, sir? Surely you can't expect him to survive on his own! He isn't strong enough!" Soul looked over at him and said in a saddened tone, "Eternal, you shouldn't judge others on how they look, or on how odd their personality may be. That goes especially for Midnight. He did something for you that you don't remember. And while he may look like an idiot, and complain a lot, he is neither weak nor dumb. He just chooses to hide his talents, that's all."

Cosmos just stared in wonder at Soul. After a few minutes of silence, he asked, "Lord Soul, you said something about Midnight doing something for me that I don't remember. What do mean by that?"

Soul just responded in a slight sing-song tone, "In due time, Eternal."

X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

"Hmm…well, that should do it! This little guy just needs some food, and he'll be good as new!" Dr. Mario announced. The black wolf, now named Nightstorm (Link picked the name, and everyone agreed that it fitted the canine), was quickly recovering under Dr. Mario's outstanding care.

"Hey, I got some meat for the little guy, I'm sure he'll enjoy it." Wolf announced from the doorway of the hospital wing.

"Ah, that's wonderful, Wolf! Here Nightstorm, eat up! You'll need all your strength if you're going to go back to your pack." Nightstorm stopped ripping at his meat, and gave a loud whine that sounded like distress.

"He said he doesn't have a pack. It seems like he was pretty much abandoned as a cub." Wolf translated for the others. "Oh yeah, Wolf can speak wolf! Can you tell him not to worry, that we'll be here to act like his new pack?" Pit asked excitedly.

"_I can already understand you, and now you can understand me, so no need for the big wolf to waste his energy translating everything." _Everyone's eyes widened drastically at hearing the unfamiliar voice come from Nightstorm. Red, the Pokémon Trainer, found his voice first and asked, " So you can do telepathy? How? You look like an ordinary wolf to us." Nightstorm chuckled and replied, _"It's because I'm a Star Wolf, the last of my kind. We look like ordinary wolves, but we are so much more. I don't really feel like explaining, since I'm feeling sleepy. Goodnight, oyasumi, buenas noches, whatever you people say…"_

After that, Dr. Mario ushered all the Smashers out of the hospital wing so Nightstorm could get some rest. As soon as the Italian doctor closed the door behind him, the black canine's eyes snapped open. He slowly got to his paws, ears pricked up in case someone decided to enter. When he realized no one was coming, he started to look around the room in awe.

"I'm a total genius! Those stupid Smashers fell for it! Oh Midnight, you are so awesome!" Midnight praised himself, letting his disguise as Nightstorm vanish. _'Don't you feel the least bit guilty? They took you in and healed you up.' _Midnight's more sensible and mature side reasoned. The black-furred dragon narrowed his emerald eyes and replied in a whisper, "Hey, while those injuries may have been real, I still have a job to do. And I'm going to do it! I need and deserve some respect here! Especially from Cosmos! I'm tired of hiding my true self behind this idiotic mask!"

'_Hmph. Suit yourself, Middy.' _Midnight huffed, thinking about his annoying inner voice. _**'What if the inner me is right? They did help me, even if they didn't know if I was secretly dangerous. No! What am I thinking!? I have a mission, and I'm going to complete it, no matter what!'**_ With that thought firm in his mind, he transformed into Nightstorm once more, and fell asleep.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

So there's the second chapter. Midnight's already having a civil war rising inside him; won't that be interesting to see later in the story? Next chapter, we take a brief look on how Mario's getting on, and who knows; maybe another Veteran will disappear? See you guys next time!

**-Hunter**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own SSBB or Harry Potter. I only own Midnight, Soul, and Cosmos.

**Threatening Reality**

"COME ON, DRACO! WHY? WHY? ASTORIA, OVER HARRY!? AUUGGHH! AND HARRY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH GINNY?! YOU BELONG WITH DRACO!" Nightstorm was screaming at the television in the Smasher living room. He was on a Harry Potter movie marathon, after being introduced to the series by Marth, and had just finished with the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Zelda was looking over at the black dragon and asked in an amused voice, "Nightstorm, you're a Drarry fanboy?" Said Drarry shipper looked over at her and replied, "Yes. Yes I am. It has got to be the most beautiful shipping I've ever seen."

"Whatever you say, Night." Zelda sighed with a roll of her eyes. Nightstorm had been there for about 2 weeks, and he had already made impressions on all the Smashers, although, more bad than good. Oddly, his best friend seemed to be Wolf, but Zelda figured it was because they were both wolves.

Right when she was about to head out, Lucas ran in crying about something. Immediately, Nightstorm muted the TV (albeit reluctantly), and stepped over to the crying boy.

"Lucas, what's wrong? Did one of the bast- uh…bad guys hurt you?" Nightstorm asked, switching one of his words due to Zelda's warning glare. Lucas sobbed, "NESS! Ness was kidnapped in front of me! He and I were walking with some Piplup and Chikoritas' in the garden, I-I turned around, and something big, gray, furry, and scary was holding Ness! A-And before I got a clearer look, it teleported! And…and it took Ness…!" The poor kid broke down after that.

Zelda went to go notify the other Smashers, while Nightstorm's mind was in a silent rage. _'Ugh, Cosmos, why? Didn't Soul tell you I could handle this on my own?! Well, actually, I'm still gaining their trust, so I guess I could let this one slide…' _Not wanting to seem suspicious, he quickly went to comfort Lucas.

"Aw, Luke, don't worry, we'll find the thing that did this and make him pay!" He told the boy, who was sobbing his eyes out. Lucas calmed down after that, and Midnight carried him to the EarthBound/Mother dorms.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X- X-X-X-X-X

"And don't you try anything funny, boy!" Mario heard, along with a thump and a heavy slam of a cell door. A familiar groan filled the room, and Mario's eyes widened. "Ness, is that you?" He heard the boy gasp and reply in a shocked tone, "Mario? You're here too?"

"Yeah, this is where I was taken after Cosmos kidnapped me."

"Cosmos? Who's Cosmos?"

Mario launched into an explanation, "I heard some of the guards talking about him, and that he's an elite assassin, along with another, whose name was Midnight or something. Anyway, Cosmos and Midnight are the elite assassins that serve under Soul, the boss of this place. Apparently, he was the one who ordered the capture of us, and many more.

"One more piece of information I heard, was that those two can take the form of anything in the entire world. People, animals, Pokémon, anything. But Midnight's favorite form is a wolf, and Cosmos's is a dog."

"But Mario, what about Midnight? Where is he?" Ness asked.

Mario was silent for a moment, trying to remember what he had heard. Finally, he replied, "Well, I don't hear very much about him, aside from 'Oh, that Midnight is such an idiot!', but I did hear that he's at the Smash Mansion now, in disguise."

"…_PK Fire!" _Ness yelled suddenly. The room was engulfed in light from the mini fire, and Mario saw the horrified look on Ness's face.

"Well, just a few weeks ago, we took in a little black wolf that appeared out of nowhere. And I'm guessing that was Midnight."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"OK! LISTEN UP! We need to figure out who is going missing, and why! Peach, help me with roll call, please!" Samus instructed. Every Smasher (except one, but no one noticed) was currently present in the Announcement Room, trying to figure out…oh, wait, never mind, I already said all this. Anyway, Samus and Peach began to call off the Smasher's names one by one, each one answering with a 'Here!'

"Meta Knight!"

"Here"

"King Dedede!"

"Here!"

"Kirby!"

Silence.

"…Kirby?"

More silence.

Samus and Peach gave each other worried looks, while the rest of the Smashers started to whisper ominous possibilities, with the kidnappind being the most accurate one, to spontaneously combusting (suddenly exploding) being the least accurate (and stupidest) one. Nightstorm, however, tried to keep his calm and swallow down his guilt for doing what he did to Kirby. So, to make sure he doesn't seem to out of place, he suggested to everyone, "Hey, why don't we go see Master Hand and Crazy Hand? Don't you think they can help us with this assassin?"

"…Wow, we are probably the biggest group of idiots on this planet." Snake commented, speaking for about everyone in the room. Nightstorm gave a small chuckle and started to head out the door to the Hands' private quarters. After a few seconds of walking in silence, he halted, making everyone that was following him pause as well.

The black wolf turned around, and with red cheeks, announced in a small, nervous voice, "Umm…to be honest, I have no idea where the Hands' quarters are, since I've been in the lounging room the whole time. So…uh, do any of you know the way there? Eheheh…"

Most of the Smashers gave a small groan and face palmed at Nightstorm's forgetfulness. Wolf sighed, and took lead, Nightstorm following close behind him, still clearly embarrassed. After about a thousand flights of stairs, Wario and Bowser fainting, and poor little Squirtle falling down the stairs (with Red running immediately after him, Ivysaur looking down with concern on his face, and Charizard snickering silently to himself), they finally reached the largest door they have ever seen.

"I have found the purpose of my being here…this door…it's so…so…beautiful…" Toon Link whispered, his eyes sparkling. Lucas walked up to him and karate chopped him on the head, successfully snapping him out of whatever the hell he was doing.

Fox walked passed them and hesitated for half a second, before pushing the doors open. When he saw what was inside, his eyes widened, and let out a gasp of shock and terror. Soon, the others were also unable to process any thought's except one: _'What happened to Mater Hand and Crazy Hand?!'_

There, on the floor, were the black trophies of Master Hand and Crazy Hand.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X- X-X

I am so sorry this is so late! All my teachers thought it would be fun to assign end of the year projects to raise our grade. So I passed all my classes. And, tomorrow, I will be heading out to San Diego with my Mom! It's going to be so much fun! Except for the hellishly long drive, and trying to find GOOD radio stations.

Oh, and about the Drarry (Draco and Harry combined) thing at the start of the chapter, my cousin wrote that. I wanted to delete it, since it had nothing to do with anything, but she threatened to tell my mom that I broke a plate that my late father gave to her on their anniversary. And she does NOT joke around with her threats. So I had to make it fit in there. To be honest, I'm a pretty big fan of Drarry myself. Anyway, I hope this chapter was sort of worth the wait.

-Harmonial (Yup, I changed my user name)


End file.
